Maybe
by 0BlueSpaceGay0
Summary: Despite her better judgement, Daisy can't help but to want to get to know her father, her real father, Cal. Now that he's a better person, she wants to see what she had missed out on all her life. Still, the team advised against it, so what else can she do? There has to be a way... Say, who gets to see veterinarians? The people with the pets. The one where Daisy gets a dog.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: An AU that takes place after season 2, where Jemma wasn't sucked into an interdimensional portal and everyone is... I don't know, happier? Also there's a dog so there's that :3

Daisy stared with a great deal of loathing at the punching bag in front of her.

She threw a punch, stopped to think, threw another one, paused to think- she passed the time like this.

Every punch was spent thinking of her father, Cal. He doesn't remember her, that's a good thing, mostly, and things should be going back to the way they were before, right?

Wrong. She thought so savagely that the next punch almost split the bag. With Cal gone, with Cal being normal and sweet and a freaking veterinarian, Daisy couldn't have felt more upset. When he was there for her during those completely insane months, he was crazy and explosive, but now he's compassionate and real- like he was before she had gone missing. Seeing him like that made her want to get to know him.

Daisy knew that she wouldn't be able to tell him the truth, she knew that talking to him would only cause her more pain, yet still she just wanted to try.

Her rage at the helplessness of the matter melted into idea forming, and soon she was trading in her boxing gloves for a thinking cap as she meandered back to her room, drenched in sweat.

He was a veterinarian... Who gets to talk to vets? A mischievous smile spread across her face, hidden from all in the privacy of her quarters.

 _The people with the pets._

And with that satisfying thought, Daisy let her whirring mind fall asleep.

Coulson was busy sorting numerous files when Daisy burst into his office early the next morning. She was clearly excited to share something, but Coulson was so involved in his work he elected to keep his head down.

"What?" He asked, almost annoyed.

Daisy looked at the man she considered, above all, to be her father figure. For a brief moment she had a crisis of conscience. Was this like a betrayal? She dismissed the thought. Coulson knows that she holds him in the highest regard in her heart, this is just her trying to see what might have been. What...what should have been.

With this newfound assurance, she opened her mouth.

"Coulson, I'm getting a dog."

He looked up, bemused. He shook his head.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

It was such a typical parental reply that Daisy threw her arms into the air in exasperation.

"That's not an answer! Anyways, I looked it up in the SHIELD _handbook,_ part 3c, subsection d which clearly states that _Agents wishing to have animals may do so if they are prepared to be one-hundred percent responsible for them at all times and will not hesitate to leave the animal if a mission or operations dictates it."_

Daisy finished her recital with a triumphant grin as Coulson looked on, unreadable. He shifted his hands, hiding a small smile.

"Well, Skye, since I am 'operations' and you have a mission, by your own rules I am allowed to forbid you from having an animal."

Daisy fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's Daisy, sir."

"Damn it, Daisy- you'll have to forgive me, this is just quite the dramatic change of names." Coulson rubbed his eyes with his hands. Daisy caught his stare and then pulled out the puppy-dog eyes.

"Agent, stop that."

"No."

"Why?"

Daisy stared straight into his eyes with her intense gaze and stage whispered,

"Because I said so."

Now it was Coulson's turn to throw up his hands. He knew he couldn't stop her if she set her mind to it, and he honestly could see a benefit to having a pet. Maybe it would boost morale, give them something to look after? Maybe it would finally teach Daisy some responsibility? Maybe?

"Fine. But you have to promise me, and I mean this Agent Johnson, you have to promise me that you can handle this because the second I get complaints coming through that door about your dog, it's going."

Daisy couldn't hide her widespread smile and she rushed forward to give Coulson a hug, something they hadn't done in a long while. With so much going on, so much that had happened, there was never time for stuff like affection. On top of that, the agents of SHIELD, however tight-knit, tended to only show emotion in situations where they thought someone might die. Coulson found it rather nice to just receive a hug because of something like Daisy being excited. Maybe this dog would show them that emotions are okay... Maybe...

While Coulson got lost in his train of thoughts about possible uses for the dog, Daisy hopped onto her laptop to look for a suitable shelter. She felt that it was only fair that a wandering stray could find sanction at SHIELD in the way she did.

"Where's Daisy ran off to?"

Fitz inquired with only a hint of concern. Daisy had left rather excitedly several hours ago, and to be honest, the base was rather quiet without her rambunctious presence. Fitz kind of missed it.

Jemma merely gave a small, knowing smile in response. Fitz narrowed his eyes. She knew something.

"Jemma I know that look. That's the 'I know something you don't know look' that means that something big is going to happen. You better tell me, you know I'm not one for surprises."

"Hmmmm... Let me think... No."

Jemma's smile morphed into a grin and she walked away from the lab table. Fitz was left questioning whether or not this 'surprise' would be good or bad.

He didn't have to wonder long, because just then an alarm sounded signaling the base to Daisy's return.

Fitz cautiously followed Jemma down the hall to the door, where Daisy stood smiling wickedly with a puppy in her arms. A German Shepard puppy.

A tongue-lolling, hair covered German Shepard puppy.

Fitz opened and closed his mouth like a fish. They were allowed to get pets?

Just then Bobbi and Hunter walked by. Hunter cocked his eyebrow.

"Is that a dog?"

Bobbi flicked his head.

"No Lance, it's an alien pretending to be a dog so that it can steal our valuable information and use it against us."

Hunter looked truly confused, and whispered into Fitz's ear,

"She's not serious right?"

This only got a groan from Bobbi, who clearly knew the dog was coming, and she shook her head and kept walking- dragging Hunter by his hood, despite his cries of "You know I'm allergic, right?"

Fitz was still flabbergasted as Daisy set the bouncing pup on the ground, and it was growling and jumping on any bystanders. Daisy had to keep pulling on the leash to stop it from soaring off the ground and onto somebody's head. Jemma was cooing at the animal, Daisy was laughing gleefully and Bobbi had come back to pet it. The dog was loving the attention.

"What's its name?"

Fitz asked slowly, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm not sure, but I was thinking of calling him...Tripp."

Daisy said uncertainly, waiting to see the other's reactions. Jemma was quiet for a while, and then nodded approvingly.

"I think it's a great name."

"You don't think he'll be mad at me for naming a dog after him?" Daisy asked, looking up to the roof and wondering if Tripp was watching him from up above.

"It'll give us a another reason to never forget him. He'll be in our hearts... And in this dog."

At this point, Coulson walked into the area and stood to examine the dog, Tripp as he now was called, from a distance.

Tripp was calming down a bit, finally, and he wagged his tail at the Director.

"You better be able to handle him, Agent Johnson."

Daisy put on a serious face, but couldn't keep the playful twinkle out of her eyes.

"Sir, yes sir, AC."

Coulson just shrugged his head and kept walking, praying Melinda would be okay with this. He had kind of forgotten to tell her...

Oh well, he thought, remembering the happy faces of his agents.

This will be interesting.


	2. Its Better Than a Monkey

May glared at Coulson, stone-faced.

"Daisy got a _what?"_

Coulson suddenly felt the air around him become a few degrees cooler. That's just the kind of effect May had.

"A, um, dog."

He choked out, a little unnerved by her eyes but unaffected past that.

May just pointed her finger at the door.

"It doesn't enter this room, it doesn't enter this entire wing and I will certainly not be expected to take care of it."

With that she slammed the metal in the Director's face.

"Ouch."

He said, jokingly. Her reaction was better than he expected, so he took that as a win. He'd have to talk to Daisy about never letting Tripp near her…

She had just hung up on the phone when Jemma was crying out for her.

"What is it?" Daisy asked, practically barreling into the room where she left Jemma with the puppy.

"Oh, nothing, he just wouldn't stop biting my fingers but I really need those!"

She laughed, still Daisy could tell she was getting tired of being a dog-sitter.

Jemma looked up.

"Who were you talking to, anyways?"

"Er, the pet store. Seeing if they were open. If we want him to stop chewing on you then we need to get him so toys."

Daisy lied easily, for in truth she had been talking to Cal's- no, _Winslow's-_ veterinary office, planning her first appointment with Tripp.

Not like she was going to tell her team that.

Jemma smiled, accepting it, and stood up. She attempted to wipe away the fur clinging to her clothes to no avail, making her frown.

"I don't recall German shepherds being this… Hairy. Poofy? Is he a pure-bred?"

"Hmm, I think the shelter said something about him being part Shetland sheepdog…"

Jemma nodded, a little surprised. Though he did have significantly more fur than a regular German shepherd, he looked nothing like a Shetland.

"Well, I'll leave you and Tripp alone- bonding or something between owner and pet- while I go find Fitz in the lab. Good? Good! See you later!"

Jemma waved goodbye and started down the hallway. Daisy grinned.

Tripp growled impatiently, getting bored of the small room they were in. He wanted to explore, sniff around, meet people- have fun!

He couldn't have been more than 9 months of age, and he had the energy of a baby on red bull. Daisy needed to find him something to do, and _fast._

A thought struck her, and she contained a snicker.

"Tripp, it's time I introduce you to my dear friend Lincoln. Come on, boy!"

Lincoln was training- he had been doing a lot of that lately. It was wake-up, eat a quick something, and then straight to the gym. He just wanted to be good enough for S.H.I.E.L.D- for _her._ He plopped down on the nearest bench with a sigh. Truth be told, Lincoln's primary reason for joining was because of Daisy. He had nowhere else to go, and he considered her his closest person. A best friend, if you will. And maybe, one day, they could be more than….

An excited yapping noise derailed his train of thought, and his gaze snapped up from the floor to a, um, a dog?

The animal's tongue was lolling about and he looked very excited to meet Lincoln. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"What the…"

"It's a dog! Surprise! You can call him Tripp." Daisy laughed, and Lincoln followed the dog's eyes to her face. She looked so happy.

Lincoln couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He reached out to pet the dog's semi-fluffy head, though suddenly-

 _ZAP!_

The moment his hand made contact with the dog's fur, a jolt passed between them and the dog became a giant cotton ball. Lincoln turned red as the dog, Tripp, went nuts.

He started yipping and bouncing, the hair covering his eyes and rendering him unable to see.

Daisy roared with laughter. This was the funniest thing to happen in a while, and it was impossible to not be entertained by such a spectacle.

Hearing her laugh only made Lincoln sink a little deeper with embarrassment. He tried to reach out to Tripp and apologize, but all it did was create more static and somehow, defying the laws of the natural order, the animal got poofier. The scene was getting so loud between the confused barks of the german shepherd, the barely contained chortles of one Lincoln Campbell and Daisy's infectious laugh that soon a crowd gathered to watch Tripp run around like a crisp marshmallow.

Some agents passed by with a shake of their heads, some a ghost of a smile teasing on their normally stone-faces, and finally there were the agents like FitzSimmons, who could hardly resist joining in the game of giggling and pointing.

Tripp finally began to calm down after a bit, and Lincoln made sure to _stay away._ Daisy kneeled down to smooth down his fur and speak some reassuring words in his ear, while FitzSimmons walked away together, Simmons wiping away a little tear and Fitz muttering something about Tripp being "better than a monkey."

Coulson, who had been watching with an amused detachment, walked away in utter bemusement.

Hunter was too busying sneezing to really enjoy the scene that had occurred before him, but he knew it was worth it because now he could annoy Bobbi with the fact that he had seen it and she hadn't. He shambled away with a wheeze, pocketing his phone. If only he could post that to YouTube without exposing all of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Daisy threw a ball around for Tripp as Lincoln looked on, admiring the way the base had become so much brighter just when she was there.

Little did anyone know that Agent Melinda May had been just right around the corner, hearing every word and spying every moment- and they would have never believed that she had in the briefest of moments laughed alongside them.

"Bob, I don't know if you noticed- wait no, I _know_ you noticed this- but you're currently covered in the hair of that creature so I must ask you stay at least 10 feet away from me. Thank you."

Hunter's nose was quivering, his eyes itching, and Bobbi was having too much fun with this. Bobbi wasn't sadistic, far from it, but ever since what happened with Ward and the whole 'knee debacle' she wanted to take her moments of power where she could get them. This was one of those moments.

She took a step closer to Hunter.

"I seem to have forgotten what you mean by 10 feet," she deadpanned. Another step.

Hunter basically sprinted backwards.

"I'm warning you, don't do this. I will sneeze in your face, Bob, I'm not joking."

Bobbi smiled. _She took another step forward and-_

Hunter didn't stick around, he just called her a she-devil and ran off down the hall to find May. May was the safe-zone; _nothing about the dog was allowed near May._

"And if Coulson really was such a stand-up guy," Hunter muttered, "Then why can't I be a safe-zone too?"

Bobbi watched her….Boyfriend? Best friend? Sprinting down the hall and felt oddly content. Things were really looking up for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

That is, until, an echoing voice reached her ears, followed by some really out of tune howls.

" _I FORGOT TO BUY DOG FOOD."_


End file.
